


Phantom

by Jade_Kyo



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Baby boi needs love, Canon Divergence, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional Whump, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gaslighting, Gen, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Possession, Sleep Deprivation, Varian whump, Whump, guilt tripping, i will have a warning on that chapter, if I need to tag anything plz let me know, only comes up once, set sometime after Be Very Afraid, suicide baiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23976733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Kyo/pseuds/Jade_Kyo
Summary: A mysterious figure appears before Varian one night claiming to be the phantom of his past, a part of himself that he has denied. Only Varian can see or hear this phantom leaving it up to him to unravel the truth behind this unwanted visitor in his mind.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 51





	Phantom

**Author's Note:**

> At last I can start working on this! This is a little idea I’ve had since the hiatus that was inspired by the song Phantom by Nathan Sharp (NateWantsToBattle). Don’t expect any consistency to updates, I am a wild child with no discipline. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Varian’s unconscious mind tingled with a constant flow of static, his body shifted and fought against its groggy state, a feeling of alarm overwhelming him even in his sleep. Something wasn’t right. Groggy eyes forced themselves open and he pushed himself up from his bed, rubbing his eyes. He scanned the room, someone was in there with him, he could  _ feel  _ it. Varian shook his head and scanned the room again until his eyes landed on a dark figure at the foot of his bed, illuminated only by the light of the full moon shining down into the room from the window above his bed. He sat there and stared for a moment, processing what he was seeing. Despite the dim light, there was no mistaking the identity of this figure. It was… himself?

“Well, well, hello there, sleeping beauty~” the figure spoke, blue eyes so much like his own stared at him, almost appearing to be glowing in the darkness. The stare penetrated deep into his soul as if they could see his darkest desires and feelings. 

Varian just stared back. His mind drew a blank for a moment, the figure was his spitting image, he was looking at himself, except that’s impossible. This had to be a dream, that’s it. This was just a dream, that’s the only logical explanation. 

A dark chuckle resonated in the room, “this isn’t a dream, kid, I can see why you might think it is, but I assure you this is all very real.” 

Varian blinked. Great, the creepy dream copy of himself could read his mind. “Well..” Varian started, “what are you then?”

“Me? Well, you should know, you created me after all.”

Varian blinked again, “what are you talking about?”

The figure sighed, “fine, if you really don’t get it, I’m a phantom.” It said with a little shrug and an amused smile. 

“A phantom?”

Haunting laughter crept through the room. Varian cringed, it sounded so much like himself, it reminded him of a time that he thought he had long since left behind. “That’s right,” the words dripped with poison, “I’m the ghost of everything you wish you could forget!”

Varian shut his eyes tight, “you’re not real.” 

Silence. Varian opened his eyes and scanned the room again. Empty. Of course it was empty. He leaned his head against the headboard of his bed and sighed. It had just been a weird dream. There was no one in his room, no creepy copies. Everything was fine. 

**_“Boo!”_ **

Varian yelped and fell off the side of his bed onto the floor, landing hard on his back. 

Hysterical laughter erupted, Varian quickly scrambled to his feet and turned to the sound. He stared dumbfounded at the phantom which appeared to be floating in mid-air now. Varian’s mind reeled, was it a dream? A hallucination? Was he just going insane? None of this made sense, last time he checked creepy copies of yourself don’t just magically appear. 

The laughter came to an abrupt stop and the phantom’s face darkened, “you are a stubborn one,” the phantom’s features smoothed out to something slightly more pleasant, “but you’re right, I’m not magic. I’m you.” The phantom lowered itself onto the bed and sat cross-legged, a childlike smile plastered on its face. It would have actually been quite a cute sight if it weren’t for the insane glint in the phantom’s eyes, “I’m your deepest desires, your harshest thoughts, and your cruelest actions. I’m the part of yourself that you’ve denied, the part of your mind that you’ve repressed; all for that stupid bitch Rapunzel-“

**_“Shut up!”_ **

The phantom cackled, “struck a nerve did I?”

Varian’s eyebrows furrowed, “I don’t know who or what you are but you will not speak about my friend like that!”

The phantom exploded into another fit of hysterical laughter, “ **_friend!?_ ** Ohohoh now that! That is sweet!” It pushed itself off the bed, it was face to face with Varian now, their noses almost touching. “She’s not your friend and you know it. The only reason she keeps you around is to translate that stupid scroll. The moment she no longer has a use for you she’ll ditch you, and then you’ll be all alone again. You know it’s true.”

Varian kept his glare in place, standing in strong defiance against the phantom, “I said  _ shut up!”  _

“Fine, don’t believe me; but don’t say I didn’t warn ya~” the phantom turned on its heels with a smirk and a wave. 

Varian shook his head, this was crazy, it had to be a dream or hallucination, that had to be it. Yeah, he had pulled a few all-nighters and that had caught up with him, that was all. “you’re not real!”

_ “Then what am I!?” _ The phantom snapped and turned a sharp glare at Varian, “tell me,  _ Varian, _ if I am not real then what am I!?” The phantom stepped closer with each word, ”Go ahead! Explain it to me! How does this make sense!?” Varian began backing away as the phantom approached until his back was pressed firmly against the wall, “That’s right!” The phantom's hand slammed against the wall next to Varian's head making him jump from the terrifyingly loud bang that accompanied the action, “You can’t! You can’t explain it, because deep down you know I’m right, deep down you know that I am  _ you.”  _ The phantom’s voice grew into an almost hysteric kind of glee. 

Varian’s heart pounded in his chest, his soft eyes shaking in fear at the phantoms sudden outburst of aggression, its words reverberating in his mind. “Yo-you’re wrong!” He tried to protest as his voice shook. 

“Am I?” A chilling smile placed itself on the phantom's lips. Its hand drifted down from the wall and gripped Varian’s chin, “fight it all you want, kid, but you’ll see, soon enough,  _ you’ll be mine.” _

Varian’s brows furrowed in a sharp glare,  _ “you’re not real.”  _ He repeated, more resolute this time. 

The phantom merely laughed, “you’ve got spirit, kid,” its hand methodically drifted up from Varian’s chin to his forehead, “I can’t wait to see it break.” 

The hand pressed against Varian’s head and its fingers interlaced with his wavy hair. A feeling of heaviness enveloped his body, like snakey vines wrapping themselves around his sagging limbs. His vision swam as he struggled to keep his eyes open, his eyelids suddenly feeling like bricks. “..no,” he slurred out. He struggled against the feeling with everything that he had, forcing his eyes open only to have them droop back shut. He couldn’t fight it, the thrall of sleep becoming too much for him despite how his mind screamed in alarm. In his last moments of consciousness he heard that same hauntingly familiar laughter echoing through his room, enveloping his mind, and planting itself deep within his soul. 

“Sleep tight, kid,” a wicked grin spread across the phantom’s face, “it’ll be your last.” 

_ And then darkness.  _


End file.
